Hey! Looks like I had a few reads. Maybe a longer chapter will get me a review? ;) Mostly, I just wanna post to celebrate and commemorate the evening's events: who is excited about the last movie tonight? I am! Though I know I am going to ball my eyes out. :'(

Chapter Two

Coward

Adhara Black landed on the filthy cobbled stones of the alley in a painful, jumbled mess and she groaned faintly to clearly establish her absolute belief in this fact before she quickly scrambled back to her feet, wand in hand and aimed at . . . no one. She whirled around and winced as the rush of movement pulled something in her side – rib perhaps – that'd been bruised in her fall. The glare she'd been wearing melted into a frown as she realized she was alone in the alleyway and she tucked her wand up her sleeve.

"Bloody coward," she muttered to herself in reaction to Severus Snape's method of dueling: throw a strange Stun-like spell to both confuse and knock his opponent off her feet and turn tail. She'd never thought Severus as the type to actually quit before making his point, as he was too darned stubborn. Then again, her twin, Sirius, and his mates would insist this cowardly dodge and ditch as typical Snivellus behavior.

The young woman's smoky eyes glanced towards the mouth of the alley and deduced that the grim looking buildings and the dark figures that flitted past the opening were Knockturn Alley before she turned in the opposite direction and headed towards the smiling faces, laughter, and bright colors of Diagon Alley here her brother and friends were waiting for her. She entered the comfort of the bustling crowd of Diagon Alley and allowed it to pull her down the cobbled street as her mind reflected on the deteriorating relationship she had with Severus.

It all boiled down to Lily Evans. Lily Evens, who's flaming red hair, emerald green eyes, and overall gorgeous looks had captured Severus's heart from the moment he'd seen her. Lily Evan's who'd ratted out Adi's crush on Severus to Sirius who strongly disapproved. Lily Evans who demoralized Sev and left him bitter and unable to see what he already had.

Merlin, Adi hated drama.

Adhara rolled her eyes as she entered Flourish and Blotts where she'd last left her friends and froze inside the doorway causing some poor bloke to run into her. He caught her and attempted to apologize, but she didn't hear his words due to her confusion. She'd been in the shop only twenty minutes or so ago. Before it'd been a single story shop with a ceiling Sirius or Remus could reach if either jumped, now the ceiling had been raised to encompass a low level loft. Not being a full floor allowed the building to feel more open. But it wasn't just the architecture that was suddenly different; not one of the newly released books on the displays were any she'd heard of – and she'd have heard of at least one as she'd glanced over a few when she'd last been in the shop nearly twenty or so minutes ago and she loved to read nearly as much as she loved to test out new interesting charms or hexes on Sirius or James, respectively. It was all wrong.

"Are you alright?" asked a kind voice. Finally, the poor sod that'd nearly run her over had gained her attention.

Despite her bafflement, she turned her attention away from the shop and curled her lips in preparation of amiably mocking the owner of the voice. "I'm not yet sure. Why don't you ask me a few more –" Her voice froze in her throat as her grey eyes found the form of the man that she blocked because she recognized him though logic protest against what she was most obviously seeing.

The graying sandy brown hair and stress wrinkle etched face, the warm chocolate eyes with the spark of a clever mind, and the slightly worn look his overall appearance exhibited was definitely Remus Lupin, on of the four Marauders, one of three best friends to her twin, and her boyfriend of about twenty or so minutes. But it couldn't be. This RJ, or Moony as the boys called him, was older by quite a bit. Not the older he always seemed from the draining effects and stress of being a werewolf, but truly older. In fact, he seemed to be old enough that he could be her father.

Realizing that this man was probably RJ's father, despite the unlikely chance that his father was also afflicted by the same curse, she smiled sincerely up at him. It wasn't as though she'd met the older Lupin before, so she wasn't surprised by her confusion. "Mr. Lupin?"

The man seemed just as shocked as Adi had been, but her words seemed to assure him that he wasn't seeing a ghost as his features seemed to have suggested he thought he had. His own lips curved into a kind smile. "Yes? Do I know you? Did I have you in my class perhaps?"

Adi scowled up at him, crossed her arms over her chest, and cocked her hip. Class? Of course she'd never had a class with RJ's father. This man had shot several gaping holes in her theory of him being her friend's father instead of the much more crazy notion that he'd stolen RJ's appearance – from the future. Curse him. "No, I sincerely doubt we've met before, sir," she replied darkly while hitting the last word hard. She didn't trust this man.

Her change in attitude stirred the man up a bit and he once again looked as though he'd seen a ghost. "I'm sorry, but you look familiar, I was only trying to figure out how I may know you. Are you a Black, by any chance?"

She snorted rather rudely in reply. Of course she was a Black – one of three last direct decedents – and everyone very dang well knew about her since she'd managed to upset her parents nearly as much as Siir had, though she hadn't gone as far as running away. "Of course I am. My name is Adhara Black and you better dang well not forget it." Though the Pureblood woman and her twin were not fond of their upbringing, both twins could not help but act just as the upper class, well-bred, respect children they had been raised as at times and this was one of those times for young Adhara Black.

The man's face paled noticeably in reaction to Adi's declaration and he grabbed her wrist to pull her away from the entrance – in retrospect, Adi wondered how it'd been that neither of them had been plowed into by someone else going from or coming to the shop.

She jerked her wrist from the man's surprisingly strong grip and glared at him but before she could give him a proper lecture on how to give a young woman the proper respect she fell silent with shock due to ten simple words he spoke in a fervent whisper. "Adi, what the heck are you doing in the future?"